Agricultural Marketing Programs Act (S.C. 1997, c. 20)

24 [Repealed, 2011, c. 25, s. 18]

Marginal note:Payments out of the C.R.F.

25 Payments that the Minister or the Minister of Finance is liable to make under this Part are to be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

PART IIPrice Pooling Program

Marginal note:Purpose

26 The purpose of this Part is to facilitate the marketing of agricultural products under cooperative plans by guaranteeing minimum average prices of products sold by marketing agencies.

Marginal note:Conditions for price guarantee agreements

27 The Minister may, with the approval of the Minister of Finance, establish conditions under which price guarantee agreements may be made.

Marginal note:Minister may make agreements

• 28 (1) Once the Minister has established the conditions, the Minister may make a price guarantee agreement with a marketing agency.

• Marginal note:Contents of agreement

  (2) The price guarantee agreement must provide that

  • (a) the Minister is to pay amounts based on the difference obtained by subtracting

    • (i) the average wholesale price of an agricultural product

    from

    • (ii) the initial payment made by the marketing agency for the agricultural product, together with the marketing agency’s costs;

  • (b) the initial payment and the marketing agency’s costs applicable to the agricultural product are those relating to the volume, grade, type and variety of the product at the time of sale;

  • (c) the average wholesale price is to be a reasonable price, as determined at the time of sale and, in case of a dispute, the Minister determines the price;

  • (d) the initial payment, the marketing agency’s costs and the average wholesale price are to be determined in the manner specified in the agreement, including specified maximum amounts; and

  • (e) the marketing agency is to comply with this Part and any other terms and conditions specified in the agreement.

• Marginal note:Requirements for marketing agency

  (3) The cooperative plan administered by the marketing agency must apply to

  • (a) a significant portion of the producers in the area where the plan applies; or

  • (b) a significant portion of the agricultural product produced in that area.

  In addition, the Minister must be satisfied that marketing the product under the cooperative plan will benefit the producers.

• Marginal note:Cooperative plan

  (4) The cooperative plan must be an agreement or arrangement for marketing that provides for

  • (a) an initial payment to producers for delivery, in accordance with the agreement or arrangement, of an agricultural product produced in Canada;

  • (b) pooling the proceeds of the sale of the agricultural product;

  • (c) equal returns to the producers for like grades, varieties and types of the agricultural product; and

  • (d) returning to the producers the proceeds of the sale of all of the agricultural product delivered under the agreement or arrangement and produced during a period of 12 months or less specified in the agreement or arrangement, after deducting the marketing agency’s costs and any reserves.

Marginal note:Production and delivery of product

• 29 (1) The agricultural product must be

  • (a) produced by the producer who received the initial payment during the period specified under paragraph 28(4)(d); and

  • (b) delivered during that period to the marketing agency under a single cooperative plan.

• Marginal note:Discontinuing delivery

  (2) During the period specified under paragraph 28(4)(d), the Minister may give notice to the marketing agency that the price guarantee agreement will not apply to any quantity of the agricultural product delivered after the date specified in the notice.

Marginal note:Payment of liabilities under agreement

30 The Minister of Finance may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, pay out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund any amount that the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food becomes liable to pay under a price guarantee agreement.

PART IIIGovernment Purchases Program

Marginal note:Powers of Minister

• 31 (1) The Minister may, with the authorization of the Governor in Council,

  • (a) sell or deliver agricultural products to a government or government agency of any country under an agreement made by Her Majesty with the government or government agency, and for that purpose may purchase agricultural products and make any arrangements for their purchase, sale or delivery that the Minister considers necessary or desirable;

  • (b) purchase, or negotiate contracts for the purchase of, agricultural products on behalf of a government or government agency of any country;

  • (c) buy, sell or import agricultural products;

  • (d) require any person on reasonable notice to give, at a specified time, any information about agricultural products that may be necessary for the administration of this Part; and

  • (e) store, transport or process agricultural products, or make contracts for their storage, transportation or processing.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (2) Except with the approval of the Governor in Council, the Minister may not sell an agricultural product under paragraph (1)(a) or (c) at a price lower than the purchase price plus handling, storage and transportation costs.

PART IVGeneral Provisions

Contractual and Financial Matters

Marginal note:Cost recovery regulations

32 For the purpose of recovering costs incurred by the Minister under this Act, the Minister may make regulations for charging fees related to making advance guarantee agreements and price guarantee agreements and fees for any other services provided by the Minister under this Act.

33 [Repealed, 2011, c. 25, s. 19]

Marginal note:Crown debts assignable

33.1 The following may be assigned in whole or in part:

• (a) for the purposes of Part I, an amount payable under a program listed in the schedule that is a Crown debt within the meaning of section 66 of the Financial Administration Act; and

• (b) for the purposes of Part II, an amount payable by the Minister under a price guarantee agreement.

Offences and Punishment

Marginal note:Information relating to advance guarantees

• 34 (1) An administrator commits an offence if, for the purpose of obtaining a guarantee from the Minister under Part I or evading compliance with any obligation relating to the guarantee, the administrator

  • (a) gives false or misleading information to the Minister; or

  • (b) fails to disclose any relevant information to the Minister.

• Marginal note:Information relating to guaranteed advances

  (2) A person commits an offence if, for the purpose of obtaining a guaranteed advance under Part I, or evading, or helping someone evade, compliance with an undertaking to repay it, the person

  • (a) gives false or misleading information to an administrator or to the Minister; or

  • (b) fails to disclose any relevant information to an administrator or to the Minister.

• (3) and (4) [Repealed, 2015, c. 2, s. 137]

Marginal note:Information relating to price guarantee agreements

• 35 (1) A marketing agency commits an offence if, for the purpose of negotiating a price guarantee agreement, or obtaining a payment or evading compliance with any obligation under the agreement, the marketing agency

  • (a) gives false or misleading information to the Minister; or

  • (b) fails to disclose any relevant information to the Minister.

• Marginal note:Information relating to payments

  (2) A person commits an offence if, for the purpose of obtaining a payment under Part II, the person

  • (a) gives false or misleading information to a marketing agency or to the Minister; or

  • (b) fails to disclose any relevant information to a marketing agency or to the Minister.

Marginal note:Non-compliance with information requirements

• 36 (1) A person who does not comply with a requirement to provide information under paragraph 31(1)(d) commits an offence.

• Marginal note:Evidence of requirements

  (2) In a prosecution under subsection (1), evidence of a requirement may be given by the production of a copy of the requirement appearing to be certified as a copy by the Minister or another official of the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

Marginal note:Punishment

37 A producer, administrator, marketing agency or other person who commits an offence under this Act is

• (a) if the offence is committed wilfully, liable on proceedings by way of indictment to a fine of not more than $500,000, to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years, or to both; and

• (b) in any other case, liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more that $10,000, to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both.

Marginal note:Prosecution of partnership

• 38 (1) A prosecution under this Act against a partnership may be brought in the name of the partnership and, for the purpose of the prosecution, the partnership is deemed to be a person. Anything done or omitted by a partner or agent of the partnership within the scope of their authority to act on behalf of the partnership is deemed to have been done or omitted by the partnership.

• Marginal note:Officers, etc., of corporations or partnerships

  (2) If a corporation or partnership commits an offence under this Act, whether or not it has been prosecuted or convicted, any officer, director, partner or agent of the corporation or partnership who directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence is a party to and guilty of the offence and is liable to the punishment provided for the offence.

Marginal note:Limitation period

39 A prosecution under this Act may be instituted no later than five years after the act or omission giving rise to the prosecution occurred.

Regulations

Marginal note:Governor in Council regulations

• 40 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) for the purposes of the definition administrator in subsection 2(1), prescribing criteria for determining

    • (i) whether organizations represent producers in an area, or

    • (ii) what constitutes a significant portion of an agricultural product, either generally or with respect to any specified area;

  • (a.1) designating animals as livestock for the purposes of the definition livestock in subsection 2(1);

  • (a.2) defining the meanings of the words and expressions control and controlled by for the purposes of paragraphs 3(2)(a) and (b);

  • (a.3) prescribing, for the purposes of paragraph 3(2)(e), circumstances in which producers are presumed to be related;

  • (b) for the purpose of subsection 4.1(1) and any regulations made under subsection 4.1(3), prescribing criteria for

    • (i) establishing an average price for an agricultural product, or

    • (ii) determining whether an agricultural product is not processed or not processed beyond what is necessary to store it and prevent spoilage;

  • (c) fixing an amount for the purposes of each of subsection 5(5), paragraphs 7(3)(a) and (b), subsection 9(1), paragraph 20(1)(b) and subsection 20(1.1), which amount may, for the purposes of subsection 9(1), paragraph 20(1)(b) or subsection 20(1.1), differ with regard to classes of producers;

  • (d) prescribing criteria for the purposes of paragraph 7(1)(b);

  • (d.1) and (d.2) [Repealed, 2015, c. 2, s. 138]

  • (e) fixing a percentage for the purposes of each of paragraphs 7(3)(a) and (b), section 13 and subsection 19(2);

  • (e.01) for the purposes of subsections 9(2) and 20(2), fixing the percentage or percentages of the amounts received by, or attributed to, related producers that are to be attributable to a producer, which percentage or percent­ages may differ depending on the type of producer or related producer;

  • (e.02) for the purposes of subsections 9(2) and 20(2), respecting the method of calculating the amounts received by, or attributed to, related producers that are to be attributable to a producer, which method of calculation may differ depending on the type of producer or related producer;

  • (e.1) prescribing criteria for determining, for the purpose of paragraph 10(1)(a), when a producer ceases to own an agricultural product or ceases to be responsible for its marketing;

  • (e.11) respecting, for the purposes of subparagraphs 10(1)(c)(ii) and (d)(ii), guarantors or classes of guarantors and the security or classes of security that must be provided by guarantors;

  • (e.2) prescribing, for the purposes of paragraph 10(1)(i), additional requirements, including requirements based on different classes of producers or agricultural products, different amounts of potential producer liability and different risks associated with that liability;

  • (f) prescribing an amount for the purposes of subparagraph 10(2)(a)(v);

  • (f.01) prescribing, for the purposes of subparagraph 10(2)(a)(vi), any means that may be used to repay an advance and the terms and conditions respecting those repayments;

  • (f.1) for the purposes of paragraph 10(2)(c), defining overpayment;

  • (f.2) respecting the security or classes of security that administrators are required to take for the purposes of section 12;

  • (f.3) determining, for the purposes of paragraph 19(1)(c), the administrator’s percentage or establishing a method of calculating it, which percentage may differ among administrators depending on their experience and past performance;

  • (f.4) respecting stays of default under subsection 21(2);

  • (g) respecting the attempts to be made by an administrator to collect on a producer’s liability under section 22 before and after the administrator requests payment from the Minister under subsection 23(1);

  • (g.1) respecting the terms and conditions that must be met before a request for payment referred to in subsection 23(1) is made by a lender;

  • (h) for determining for the purposes of subsection 28(3) what is a significant portion of producers or agricultural product;

  • (h.1) respecting the assignment of the amounts referred to in paragraphs 33.1(a) and (b);

  • (h.2) prescribing anything that is to be prescribed under this Act; and

  • (i) generally, for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act.

• Marginal note:Recommendation

  (2) Regulations made under paragraph (1)(c) or (e) may be made only on the Minister’s recommendation with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance.

• Marginal note:Different requirements for security

  (3) Regulations made under paragraph (1)(f.2) may require different security to be taken with respect to different classes of agricultural products, different amounts of producer liability and different risks associated with that liability.